Profile

I am a graduate engineer in the water sector. I am Belgian and moved to the UK back in 2013 to study. I attended Brighton University and I am now still living in Brighton as I fell in love with the town. My partner and I recently brought a house here, so I am here to stay :)!

In my free time I can be a bit of a geek: I love watching movies and tv-shows, the occasional computer games. I usually meet with my friends at least once a week to play board games (pre-lockdown), and I also enjoy a nice beer garden (of course).

I also used to play rugby (since I was 15) which tend to surprise most as I don’t have the typical frame you would expect from a rugby player.

I became interested in water engineering quite late in my life, but I now could not imagine doing anything else! I cannot wait to have a chat with everyone and to answer any questions you might have!

As a graduate water engineer, I work on the design of drainage schemes, which can be as simple as new gullies and pipes, but can also include sustainable drainage schemes (SuDS). When it rains over cities and towns, the water cannot enter the ground as easily as it would in a field as it is all built up and covered in asphalt. SuDS aim to copy a more natural environment within a city, via grass channels, gardens and tree pits. They help store the water and reduce the amount that goes in the pipes, which helps reduce flooding! No more big ponds at the bottom of the street. I have included a few pictures.

Another aspect of my work is looking at flood risks from different sources. Flooding can be cause by surface water accumulating (when there is no space in the pipes, as described above), but it can also be caused by rivers overflowing, or by the sea. When a new building or development is planned, water engineers look at all the risks of flooding on the site and whether the development needs to be protected from it or might increase the risks.

We also help produce flood maps and models, as shown on the pictures below.

I usually arrive at the office at around 8 am. We have a flexible working policy, so you can sit at any desk within your zone. As I arrive early, this means I can often choose my favourite seat near the windows. I tend to always start my day with a cup of tea, and going over my emails and tasks for the day. It is quite typical for me to work on several projects simultaneously, so making a to do list in the morning to make sure I stay on top of things is helpful.

The kind of things I do tend to vary quite a lot with the projects I work for. Examples of activities are:

• Putting together technical drawings using software (CAD)
• Writing design reports
• Do design calculations (typically using pre-built tools and guides, we don’t need to know everything!)
• Prepare client/coordination meetings
• Reply to queries by emails
• Visit sites
• Put together project proposals, fees, and programmes.
• Attend trainings and webinars. We never stop learning!

Obviously at the moment we are all working from home. However, as we did have a flexible working policies in place, it has been quite easy to do everything virtually including meetings.

It is not all work neither, throughout the day I often have tea breaks with my colleagues and we always have lunch together. It is a very cooperative environment and you always end up working with lots of different people and chatting throughout the day.

Here are some pictures of my office: